From Julian's point of view.
We were heading west. Fast. I, Iris, and Liam—our hearts pounding, feet slamming against the ground. We didn't even speak. The only sound was our breathing and the echo of distant screams. That noise… we'd heard it just moments ago. It was enough to twist your stomach into knots. And now we were running straight toward it.
The closer we got, the worse it became.
And when we finally reached the scene—God, I wish we hadn't.
It was a massacre.
Bodies. So many of them. Scattered across the street like they were nothing more than trash tossed from a moving truck. Blood ran in small rivers across the stone paths. Pieces of limbs… heads… clothes torn apart.
Humans, slaughtered. Torn open like animals. Like prey.
And the ones doing it? Demons. Ruthless, ugly, heartless demons. Some of them still stood there, blood dripping from their claws, faces twisted in twisted joy.
I turned to Iris just in time to see her eyes flicker—bright green. They glowed like fireflies trapped behind glass. Something in her broke.
"Iris..." I whispered.
Too late.
She screamed—not a word, just a raw, animal roar of rage—and charged straight at the demons like she had lost her mind. Her feet barely touched the ground as she leapt forward, creating a massive sledgehammer out of a stone slab from the street.
She brought it down with such force, the ground shook.
One demon's head exploded on impact. Another was crushed to a pulp, its blood spraying all over her face. But Iris didn't stop. She kept smashing and smashing—even though the demons were already dead. Even though nothing was left to crush.
"Iris! That's enough!" I shouted, but she couldn't hear me.
Liam didn't wait. He rushed in, his hands quickly forming armor out of stone. Thick, heavy layers wrapped from his wrists to his forearms. And just like that, he started trading blows with the nearest demon.
I was about to jump in too—but then I saw something.
One demon. Different from the rest. Sitting casually on top of a pile of corpses. Its skin was grayish-red. Its eyes glowed with sick satisfaction. And on its lips… a smile. No—not a smile. A smirk.
Like it was proud of what it had done.
I looked back at Iris.
She was still going, her hair wild, her face splattered in blood. She looked like a wild creature, not the Iris I knew. Her rage had taken over. Then suddenly—she froze.
Her gaze locked on the demon sitting atop the corpses.
Without a word, she raised her hand. In seconds, sharp knives made of stone formed midair. She hurled them one after the other with insane speed. It was like watching a storm of blades fly through the air.
But the demon didn't even blink.
With a single swing of its massive axe, it shattered every last knife into dust.
Iris didn't stop.
She made one last knife—this one bigger—and hurled it straight at him. The demon tilted its head, caught the blade between its teeth, and bit down. The knife cracked into pieces.
I felt fear crawl up my spine.
"I need to act now," I muttered. "She's going to get us all killed…"
Just then, two demons charged at me from opposite sides. Their faces full of bloodlust. Their clothing was strange—brown, rough leather skirts and thick robes tied tightly at the waist. Both carried heavy weapons.
The one on my left had a giant, straight sword with weird cylindrical markings carved across its blade. The one on my right was more muscular, with horns shaped like a kudu's. He created a Tachi sword—sleek and deadly.
I didn't hesitate.
I summoned my twin axes and blocked their blows in one clean motion. The clash of metal rang loud in the air. Sparks flew. They were strong, but I was faster.
I twisted my body, dropped low, and in a single blink, I used my enhanced speed to blur past them. My blades moved like wind—silent and precise.
And when I stopped?
Their bodies were already falling apart—cut into hundreds of pieces. They didn't even know they were dead until they hit the ground.
I stood there, breathing heavy, blood dripping from my weapons.
Then I looked up—and what I saw made my heart stop.
Iris had climbed up another demon. She was doing a move I'd only seen her practice once before.
A hurricane-like move. A hurricanrana.
She leapt onto the demon, wrapped her legs tightly around its neck, and spun her body backward with lightning speed. The demon crashed onto its back.
Before it could even react, Iris pulled out two freshly made stone knives and stabbed both into the demon's eyes.
It screamed in agony.
Then she began stabbing—over and over—into its neck. Each stab more vicious than the last. Then with one final motion, she slit its throat and shoved the demon off of her.
But something was wrong.
I looked up again and saw the demon who had been sitting on the pile of corpses. It had finally moved. Slowly, it stood. Then—without warning—it threw a knife. A silent, sharp flash aimed straight at Iris's back.
"Iris—no!" I shouted.
But it was too late.
Time seemed to slow. Birds froze in the sky mid-flight. Even the wind stopped blowing.
I pushed my body forward, faster than I'd ever moved in my life. I had no plan, no backup. I just ran.
I stretched out my hand and caught the flying knife mid-air, the blade burning my palm. Without thinking, I hurled it back at the demon.
But the demon caught it… with its bare fingers.
Like it was nothing.
My effort… wasted.
Pain exploded across my arm. A burning sensation. I gritted my teeth and kept moving. I couldn't stop. Not now.
I reached the demon, tilted my sword low, and—using my full momentum—I sliced through both of its legs. Before it could even scream, I spun and cut its head clean off.
Its body dropped.
But then I screamed.
Loud. Painful. My right arm—the one I used to throw the blade—was engulfed in fire.
Hellfire.
I fell to the ground, clutching it.
My skin… it was burning, melting, tearing apart. The pain was unbearable.
"Julian!" Iris screamed, finally snapping out of her rage.
She ran to me, panicked, eyes wide with horror. She dropped to her knees beside me and poured water from her canteen onto the fire. The steam hissed, but it barely helped.
I cried out, the agony ripping through my entire chest.
Liam came rushing in seconds later, kneeling beside us.
I lay flat on the ground, eyes staring up at the sky. The clouds above looked soft. The wind felt cold against my blistered skin.
Everything hurt.
I could barely speak. Barely breathe.
But I heard Iris's voice.
"Stay with me… Please, Julian, don't pass out. I need you to stay."
I looked at her. Her hands trembling. Her eyes filled with tears.
"Why… why did you do that?" she whispered.
I wanted to smile, but I couldn't move my face.
"Because it's you…" I mumbled. "I couldn't watch you die."
She covered her mouth, tears streaming down.
"You idiot…" she whispered through her sobs.
Then, she leaned down—and for the first time—her forehead rested against mine.
The world was blurry. But in that moment, I didn't feel the pain. Just her breath. Just her presence. Just her warmth.
Maybe I was dying.
Or maybe… this was the start of something else.
I don't know how long I lay there.
But I remember her hand holding mine. Tight. Steady.
And I remember thinking—if I have to burn again to protect her, I would.
Again and again.